Railway car door track



l0, 1935. F. v. DE HAVEN RAILWAY CAR DOOR TRACK Filed May 19, 1930 Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY CAR DOOR TRACK Application May 19, 1930, Serial No. 453,695

Claims.

My invention relates to railway car doors and particularly to doors of the type mounted on roller or ball bearings such as are in general use at the sides of box cars. In my copending application Serial No. 453,693 led of even date herewith, I describe and claim a car door structure having a framing member mounted on the outer face of the door and forming a suitable trackway for an anti-friction supporting element.

The general objects of my present invention are the same as of the above-mentioned application, namely, to provide a framing device extending from end to end of the door and forming a suitable track-way for riding on the anti-friction element which supports the door and also to protect the anti-friction element and its carrier track from weather and dirt and injury from eX- ternal sources.

A further object of my present invention is to provide a single structural member forming a framing element for the bottom of the door and adapted to reinforce the same from end to end and also to provide spaced track-Ways for riding on an anti-friction element located in Avertical alinement with the door. In my above-mentioned copending application the track-ways are located at one side of the door body.

In another copending application Serial No. 453,694 iiled of even date herewith, I illustrate other forms of door reinforcing and track-way forming structure in some of which the trackways are arranged in substantially vertical alinement with the door body but in this disclosure the track-ways are formed by cooperating structural members which are formed separately.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a single structural member which will have an upwardly facing recess to receive the lower portion of the door and will have a downwardly facing recess forming the track-ways for the anti-friction element,

Another object of my invention is to provide a complete device of the type referred to which will comprise a central member secured to the door body and forming the track-ways and side members also applied to the door body and extending below the central member and forming a housing for receiving the anti-friction element and its carrier track.

These and other detailed objects of my invention are attained by the structures illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a partial side view of a railway box car having a side door structure embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 2--2 of Figure l and Figures 3 to 8, inclusive, are similar sections illustrating different modifications of my invention.

The car side wall I may be of any desired 5 construction having an ordinary door opening 2. The door 3 may be of any desired construction, wood or steel, and braced as desired. As illustrated, it is reinforced by vertical front and rear edge members 4 and 5 which cooperate with my 10 lower edging and framing device to provide a rigid door.

Inserted between the spaced lower edges of panel 3 and secured to end members Il and. 5 is a structural member 6, the lower portion of which diverges and forms a pair of spaced track-ways I for riding upon a ball-bearing 8 which, in'turn, is carried on a track 9 formed by the horizontal leg of angle IB. Side members II and I2 are secured to the lower portion of the door, preferably by the same rivet I3 which securesl the central member 6. Each of these side members is substantially Z shaped in section and their webs are inclined, respectively, outwardly and inwardly from the door whereby their lower iianges I4 25 are spaced a substantial distance apart so as to receive between them the ball-bearing and its carrier track. The webs of members II and I2 abut the diverging legs of member so that these members mutually reinforce each other particularly against vertical strains. The lower portions of the flanges Ill are adapted to engage the side of the track to hold the remainder of the structure in alinement therewith.

By providing track-ways 'I so that they engage 3 smaller bearing circles on the ball-bearing than the bearing circle engaged by carrier track 9, the movement of the door is so proportioned to the movement of the ball that when the door is closed from the position shown in Figure l the ball 40 nearest the front end of the door will remain in front of the middle of the door. This will avoid teetering of the door during travel of the car. Similarly, the door will reach its closed position before the rear end of the cage for the rear ball engages the ball and this avoids the necessity of any part of the structure sliding over the ball instead of maintaining a rolling contact therewith.

In Figure 3 the Z side members I5 and I6 have 50 substantially horizontal webs and the central member I'I has substantially horizontal shoulders I8 abutting the webs of the side members and this arrangement, together with the securing means I9, tends to form a more rigid framing unit. Also, this modification illustrates the adaption of my invention for a roller bearing 20 instead of the ball-bearing shown in the other illustrations.

In Figure 4 I illustrate my invention applied to a wooden door, the central framing member 2| comprising a U-shape receiving the lower plank 22 `of the door and having a downwardly facing V-shapeY 'depression 23 .forming spaced track-ways 24 for the ball-bearing 25; lThe side members 26 and 21 are here shown as flat bars or plates extending downwardly from the sides of member 2| and cooperating therewithto form the housing for the ball-bearing, its cage 28 and its carrier track 29.

In Figure I illustrate a similar construction inwhichthe central member 30 has a horizontal bottom 3l to the U section andinas spaed 'trackways 32 projecting downwardly therefrom.

Figure 6 illustrates a modification of my `invention in which the .track-Way fermlng member 33 is secured to one side of a wooden .door body 34 but extends under the same with a double crimp providing the track-ways 35 below and in vertical alinementrwith the door body. vThemember 33 terminates `in a downwardly disposed Aflange 36 which forms one side of a housing for receiving the 'ball-bearing 31, its cage 38 .itsicar-V rier track 39. The' opposite side of the housing is formed by 'a substantially flat plate .or bar l4Il secured to the sameside of the door as the upper flange of'member 33. The device constitutes a reinforcement for the door and, at the same time, theengagement Abetween the downwardly facing edge 4I of the door and the .corrugation 42 in the reinforcing Vmember 33Y tends to hold the track-ways rigid. f

In Figure 7 I illustratea very similar structure in which the main reinforcing member 44 Vpresents a downwardly facing V-like :portion in which the track-ways are flat.

In Figure 8 I illustrate a similar structure .in

which the reinforcing member is formedlof 'a single T bar shape, the leg of'which 'is deformed to provide the relatively inclined track-ways 45 for the ball 46 vand also to form a depending portion 41 at one side of the trackrand cooperating with the remainder `of the leg and arm 48 of the T, on the other .side of the track, to form the housing for the ball-and track.

In all the forms of my .invention illustrated in this application, a single bar forms spaced' track-ways in substantial vertical alinement with the car door and'beneath the saine,V OneV or more additional `memberscooperate with .the .track-,way forming member to complete the housing-for receiving the bearing elementV and its carrier track.

While I prefer to apply the framingandtrackway forming device directly to -thelower .portion of the door body, itV is` within the scope of my invention to Aapply the framing device .to ,ai separate memberforming an extension of the door body. I contemplate the exclusive .use of thisan'd other modifications of my invention whichcome within the scope of :my claims..V

I claim: 1. VIn a vrailway v car door, a door panel .mem-

ber having spaced lower edges, a pair of door framing members having their upper portions applied respectively to the opposite sides of said edges and having downwardly facing shoulders below said portions, a third framing member 5 with a part inserted between said spaced edges and having upwardly facing shoulders seated against said downwardly facing shoulders and constituting spaced trackways" for riding on an anti-friction supporting element, and means securing all of said framing members to said panel whereby all of said members mutually reinforce each other.

2. In a railway car door, a vertical panel, a pair of separate plate parts overlapping said panel,` 'said parts having downwardly facing osets, ra vthird vpart of inverted Y-section also overlapping said panel, the legs of said third part seating against said offsets whereby all of said parts mutually brace each other, and means securing said panel and parts together.

"3. A rigid'sliding door structure for a railway car comprising a door body panel, an inverted Y- section part, and plate parts on each side of said Y- sec'tion part, all of said parts being secured 25 to the door body panel and said plate parts having shoulders seating against the legs of said Y- Vsection'part and having portions depending sub-v stantially beneath said rlegs for housing the antifrictiondevice and its track and guiding the door movements, the shouldered'en'gagementof said parts enabling the same to mutually brace eac other `against vertical deflection.

4. In a railway car door, a door body member and a door Vframing device comprising a structural, element vertically overlapping and directly secured .tothe lower portion of said body member substantially from end to end thereof and extending below said body member and provided with integral trackways spaced on opposite sides of the` central plane of the door, saiddevice valso comprising a pair of Z-bars extending continuouslyv from frontl to rear of the door and each having ranupper flange disposed vertically and overlapping the opposite sides of said body member, vthe webs of said Z-bars extending away from said body member in opposite directions and the other flanges of said Z-bars extending downwardly at opposite sides of said trackways to form a housing for receiving an anti-friction 50 supporting element and its track, and means securing said element and said Z-bar upper flanges to each other and to said body member to form a rigid unit'. v

5. In a railway car door having a body panel member, a device extending substantially from the front edge to the rear edge of the door and being of inverted Y shape cross section, the leg and .each arm thereof each comprising a single solid flange, .the leg cf said device overlying said body panel member throughout its length and being secured .directly thereto, and the arms of said 'device `terminating in spaced trackways locatedbeneath said leg and on opposite sides of the `planeof said leg for engaging spaced bearing g5 circles Vvon an anti-friction supporting element.

FLOYD v. DE HAVEN. 

